Hampden-Sydney Student Daniel Osarfo-Akoto Selected for Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Program

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Daniel Osarfo-Akoto, junior, Hampden-Sydney College

HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, VA (02/28/2014)(readMedia)-- Daniel Osarfo-Akoto a junior at Hampden-Sydney College has been accepted to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Exceptional Research Opportunities Program (EXROP). He will spend the summer of 2014 working at Harvard Medical School.

The HHMI, founded by businessman Howard Hughes in 1953, is a national leader in support for biomedical research. Institutions with a connection to HHMI programs are invited to nominate students for the EXROP program, and Hampden-Sydney is one of approximately 80 schools nationwide that participate in the HHMI Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) program in which H-SC students isolate and characterize bacteriophage from the environment as part of a national research project on bacteriophage evolution and diversity.

Daniel will work in the laboratory of Dr. Norbert Perrimon, who uses the common fruit fly as a model system to study how cells communicate with each other. His research has direct ramifications on understanding how differentiated tissue is maintained and regenerated in multicellular organisms, including humans.

On campus, Daniel participates in Circle K, the Animation Club, and the International Club. A biology major, he is a graduate of Varina High School and is the son of The Reverend Joseph Osarfo-Akoto of Richmond

A private college for men, Hampden-Sydney is ranked nationally in the top 100 of liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report. The College is known for its liberal arts curriculum, the Honor Code which stresses individual and collective responsibility, and a focus on the education of young men.